Fertility restoration by dominant nuclear genes is essential for hybrid breeding based on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) to obtain heterotic effects and high seed yields. In sunflower, only the PET1 sterility inducing cytoplasm has been used in commercial hybrid breeding until now. This particular male sterility was derived from an interspecific hybrid Helianthus petiolaris × H. annuus. For the recent work we used the segregating population RHA325(CMS) × HA342, based on the PET1 cytoplasm… CONTINUE READING